THE BACKSTORY
CAN YOU SEE A PLACE FROM MULTIPLE ANGLES AT ONCE?
YES, WITH SOME HELP.
PROOF
From every angle, London’s Oxford Circus is filled with movement, energy, and crowds.
PHOTOGRAPHER Nicolas Ruel usu-
ally takes eight seconds to make his
long-exposure images. Why not less
time—or more? “Eight is the number of
infinity,” he says, referring to what he
hopes is the endless wonder of looking
and looking again at his double-take
images of cityscapes around the world.
He starts with an urban place filled
with people, energy, and motion. Train
stations work well, as do churches,
libraries, and stadiums—anywhere
that people gather. He sets his tripod
and takes a four-second exposure in
one direction (most photo exposures
are about 1/60 of a second or less).
Then, with the shutter still open, he’ll
swivel the camera to a different view
for another four-second exposure—
creating, ultimately, an eight-second
one-frame documentary.
Long exposures typically show
motion blur. Double exposures often
mesh two images. But using both tech-
niques from the same point offers a
sense of depth, allowing the viewer to
stand in a single spot and take a look
around. Human places, rather than
wild spaces, attract Ruel most. They’re
dramatically different from one sec-
ond to the next, constantly changing.
As a result, New York’s Times Square
or London’s Oxford Circus, two of the
world’s most photographed locations,
spring to life through Ruel’s camera
with views not seen before.
Ruel searches for new places to
photograph in urban spaces, the
more vibrant the better. A series that
started with eight cities now has 68,
and Ruel’s goal is 100. But he leaves
open the possibility that just like the
images, the series may, in a way, be
infinite. —DANIEL STONE